How our rugs are made

Part One: Preparing the Wool

The peoples of India, Nepal, and Pakistan are historically known for their expertise in the hand-knotting as well as design of wool area rugs. Their work and craftsmenship have been captured here to provide you with a glimpse of how our treasured carpets are made. Please enjoy this pictorial tour!

The story of handknotting area rugs begins with the fat-tail and merino sheep. Owning and caring for these sheep provides wool for income and meat for food. This way of life continues today much as it did ages ago.

Different climates, waters, vegetation, and breeds of sheep produce different lengths of wool.

Sorting and blending these types of wool gives the best quality,

Carding wool by hand or by machine separates the long staple yarns to be used later for spinning into threads.

Centuries old, the technique for spinning by hand is still practiced to ready the wool for the next very important step, dying. For what would a rug be without color?

Dying wool with timeless organic dye-stuffs as well as modern chemical dyes is an art in itself.

Skilled dyers will sell their wools to many weavers, where they are taken into homes and loom centers to await the knotting process.

On to Part Two: Design and Weave